The Secret World

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The Secret World
Completed
TSWL BG Image.jpg
The Secret World: Legends puzzle trail, also known as "Kiss of the Revenant".
Type [[List_of_Investigations#Official|Official]]
Creator Alice & Smith / Funcom
Discovered 2017-06-16

Main Page > List of Investigations > The Secret World

The Kiss of the Revenant puzzle trail is a promotional series of puzzles linked to The Secret World: Legends. It was created by Alice & Smith, who also created the Waking Titan and Dawn Bloom ARGs.

If you want to discuss the puzzle or get live updates on it, then there are three places where you can do so:

This page is a mirror of this page on the Cry Gaia Wiki.


This page is a work in progress, and will be updated as new developments emerge.


This page documents the Kiss of the Revenant puzzle trail. Be warned - there are puzzle spoilers on this page (behind spoiler tags)!

Initial Announcement

The puzzle began when the official twitter for The Black Watchmen posted a link kissoftherevenant.com[1]. It had already been hinted at during the Developer stream on 16 Jun. 2017, the day before the announcement, that there would be something coming up.

It's started... http://kissoftherevenant.com  #SecretWorldLegends

Following the URL redirects to mmorpg.com/puzzle.cfm where the puzzle is located.

A screenshot of the puzzle's frame on mmorpg.com.

It was quickly discovered that some letters were bigger than others, spelling out AHEOET. Examining the page's source code, every big letter's HTML tag also had a number. The numbers are 98 105 116 46 108 121, which is the ASCII decimal representation of bit.ly. Using AHEOET as a bit.ly link, people would end up at cdn.kissoftherevenant.com/shadow-bound-anim.gif.

The gif found at the bit.ly link. This gif shows a shadow bound weapon, one of the possible rewards, in action.

Furthermore, on the puzzle page a 'cursed soul' can randomly appear at a random position within the frame. When clicked, the text '+1 cursed soul' pops up, but outside of that nothing seemed to happen. After the first chapter got unlocked, it became clear these unlock 'group rewards' when all chapters are completed (see the Rewards section down below).

A soul appears at a random location. When clicked, the '+1 cursed soul' text appears.

People on reddit started analyzing the page's javascript code. This made clear that a server decides when a soul shows up, and is notified when that soul gets clicked on. Outside of that there isn't anything immediately useful to be found in the code, only some references that likely will be used in later parts of the puzzle, as well as that the puzzle will consist of multiple chapters.

First Chapter

The secret page included with the first puzzle.

At approximately 12:18GMT 2017-07-17 the first puzzle unlocked. Clicking on the puzzle would play a short video, after which the hint 'Draw first upon the ground' is displayed. A secret page was given as well, containing four tarot cards with the hint 'That which is lost more than others'.

The Henderson mentioned in the video likely is Archibald Henderson. The video only provides some context however, and doesn't contain any clues. The Russian text seen in the video are Film leader. Here's a transcript of the narrator in the video:

Step closer. Let me see you. Mmmh. You'll do, you'll do. So then, let me tell you a story.
Time was a family lived around here. Tragic. But someone like you? I'm sure you have heard it all before.
Old man Henderson tried to walk away from power. Instead he lost everything... he ever built, everyone he ever loved.
But this story isn't about him, but about his younger daughter, Samantha, and her struggle to be free of him.
I see you found Sam's notebook. Maybe you can finish her work in binding the revenant.
Hangs around here, y'know. Takes a lot of brains and a lot of guts. But the weapon you make sure'll be worth it.
Come on, see if you can make heads or tails of it.

1st tip: SPOILER


2nd tip: SPOILER


2nd tip, more obvious: SPOILER


Solution: SPOILER


Second Chapter

The secret page included with the second puzzle.

At 17:34GMT 2017-06-18 the second puzzle unlocked. People who signed up to be notified received an e-mail stating:

Not bad, not bad.
Maybe you're enough like Sam to get the job done.
She was smart as a whip, half again as clever as anyone ever gave her credit for...

Clicking on the puzzle would play this video. Here's a transcript of the video:

Not bad, not bad.
Maybe you're enough like Sam to get the job done.
She was smart as a whip, half again as clever as anyone ever gave her credit for...
Took after her old man like they were peas in a pod. That is why they never got along.
Her pap tried to hide his past from the whole family. But Samantha was well aware of all his secrets.
She never got to Innsmouth herself. Shame. Given she had a talent for power.
When she learned a little from watching her paps, and a little more while rifling through his papers while he was out.
Y'know, what they say. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, friend.

The first part is the same as the email. Innsmouth refers to Innsmouth Academy most likely.

After the video a hint is displayed again, this time being 'Dried and held under the tongue'. Another secret page was given as well, this time containing the hint 'That which is distilled', together with an image annotated with the text 'green bottle, square faced... father's basement'.

1st tip: SPOILER


2nd tip: SPOILER


Solution: SPOILER


Third Chapter

The secret page included with the third puzzle.

The third mission was unlocked when 13000 souls were reached at 23:47GMT 2017-06-22 during the Beyond the Veil stream with Tilty and Anashel. Again an e-mail was sent out, this time with the following text:

I see you're making progress on Sam's little project.
This was her act of desperation, this ritual she made up...

There was also a video with more of the story. Here is the transcript:

I see you're making progress on Sam's little project.
This was her act of desperation, this ritual she made up...
She was trying to make her tools control her paps creations.
When she was a pure heart and uncorrupted by the darkness around her.
She didn't want power for its own sake, no. She wasn't fighting for the world or against it.
She just wanted something to protect herself so she could escape with her sweetheart and escape from old man Henderson once and for all.
*female laugh* And freedom is sweeter. Keep going, and see how you do.

The hint this time was 'Place replica at the center of the pentacle for the new moon'. The secret page contains additional clues, stating 'That which is precious' as well as two pictures: one labeled 'My visit to the St Mary's Cathedral' and 'Uncle George, Bishop of...'. A piece of text saying 'M&W 1910 replica of uncle's treasure'.

1st tip: SPOILER


2nd tip: SPOILER


3rd tip: SPOILER


Solution: SPOILER


Fourth Chapter

The secret page included with the fourth puzzle.

The fourth chapter was unlocked around 16:24GMT 2017-06-24. As usual, an e-mail containing a part of the introduction video was send:

You know Sam's story doesn't have a happy ending,
and nothing you do here can change that.

As with the previous chapters, there is a video with some more of the story. Here is the transcript:

So far, so good.
You know Sam's story doesn't have a happy ending,
and nothing you do here can change that.
There is one moment of true happiness for Sam and her true love. Stealing kisses along the pumpkins.
They say that Jack the Lad had sweet talked Samantha. But it went the other way around. She had a plan and Jack was part of it.
That midnight embrace was an invocation that depowered her weapon. And it almost worked. Almost.
... Let's see if you could take that a little further.

The hint this time was 'Spill the blood of the cat'. The secret page contains additional clues, stating 'That which strike terror and fear'.

1st tip: SPOILER


2nd tip: SPOILER


3rd tip: SPOILER


4th tip: SPOILER


Solution: SPOILER


Fifth Chapter

The secret page included with the fifth puzzle.

The fifth chapter was unlocked around 18:58GMT 2017-06-25. Again there was the usual e-mail:

And here we take our sharp turn into tragedy.
Sam and Jack found fleeting happiness together,
but their moment of sweetness was cut short.

And the usual story video. Here is the transcript:

And here we take our sharp turn into tragedy.
Sam and Jack found fleeting happiness together,
but their moment of sweetness was cut short.
Nobody can say for sure if Old Man Henderson found them together or if his scarecrows did.
But I'm sure that Sam didn't get to end her invocation. She lost her life to her father's scarecrows instead.
You might think this means that she failed. But you are wrong. She didn't fail at all. She was successful, beyond her wildest dreams.
You are almost there. You can't stop now.

The hint this time was 'Fix your gaze on high'. The secret page contains an additional clue: 'That which is brightest' along with an image.

1st tip: SPOILER


2nd tip: SPOILER


Solution: SPOILER


The Ritual

Immediately after completing the Fifth Chapter, it became possible to do the ritual. One weapon had to be selected for the ritual, and then the correct sequence of runes had to be selected. Five dots would light up in Mastermind style: red to indicate on of the selected runes is on the correct position, followed by grey dots for every correct rune in the wrong position. Every guess would take up some energy, and once the energy bar got empty there would be a short cooldown before it filled up again.

There was a choice out of six runes for five positions, so at least one rune wasn't used. By trying to fill up all positions with one rune, for every run, it was easy to guess which rune(s) didn't get used, and how often the other runes should be used. After that it is simply a matter of guessing a rune in the first position and filling the rest up with an unused rune until the first rune is guessed correctly (indicated by a single red dot lighting up). The same process can be repeated for all the other positions until the correct sequence is found.

Once the ritual completed, players could leave their e-mail to receive the code, which would be send during the waxing crescent. The moon started its waxing crescent on 2017-06-24 and it will end on 2017-07-01.

After the ritual, there was a final video. Transcript:

Well, I'll be damned. You did it. You captured the monster and lay poor Samantha Henderson to rest at last.
Be careful with that thing though. The revenant is always in there, waiting. He'll come and fight with you. And for you from time to time.
But it is always going to be in there. So if you are not careful... well you know what revenants do.
Watch your back, friend. Or else someone might have to fend this your story too.

Rewards

The possible rewards..

After the first puzzle was unlocked, the rewards screen became available, giving a preview of all possible rewards. These rewards include:

  • A 'Shadow Bound Weapon' which has a 20% chance to summon a revenant with every hit. The revenant will cast raven blade which deals physical damage. The preview video is the same as the gif found at the start, except with a higher quality.
  • Weapon/talisman distillates. This reward got changed from 3 200xp distillates of each type to one 600xp distillate of each type during the puzzle.
  • Black Watchmen hoodie
  • +5 AP and +5 SP potion
  • Black Watchmen jacket

Only the weapons were unlocked when the rewards screen came available. The rest of the rewards had to be unlocked by collecting souls.

The second reward was unlocked at 19:27GMT 2017-06-17, when 2500 souls were reached.

The third reward was unlocked at 17:16GMT 2017-06-18, when 5000 souls were reached.

The fourth reward was unlocked at 21:04GMT 2017-06-19, when 7500 souls were reached.

The last reward was finally unlocked at 03:47GMT 2017-06-25, when 15000 souls were reached.

Around 13:17GMT 2017-06-19 people started reporting[2] that the souls had reset to 2500. Anashel confirmed this was a bug in the Discord channel at 13:24GMT, and the issue was resolved a few minutes later.

(Yeah, we had to change the way the site is tracked because we are hitting the limit of 10m hits per month for google analytics... I guess it's a good news. :) - And in the process of tweaking it, we left a test variable on. Sorry for that)

A piece of artwork is also given as reward for completing each puzzle.

Media

References

  1. https://twitter.com/division66/status/875858321470894081
  2. https://www.reddit.com/r/SecretWorldLegends/comments/6hqzy9/swl_prelaunch_black_watchmen_arg_has_started/dj3rnfy/